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Showing posts from October, 2013

Hunger

Ambition is a fantastic motivator. Especially if you're also clear on  what it is that you want to achieve/become. I mean, you don't need anyone to dangle a carrot at the next corner, coaxing you into making a right turn; you just automatically want to do what you need to do to get what you're after. I have absoluteluy no idea what it is that I am hungry for. I have a very attentive and loving husband, a good job with colleagues I usually don't feel like gassing in their sleep, and practically zero familial or friendship drama. Is the restlessness, in which I find myself during the quiet moments, a desire to move and get out more? Or, on an even more seriously damaged note, have I been able to pull off the greatest prank ever - tricking myself into thinking I want what I have only to waste an entire life? Could this also be the root of  my eating disorder? I binge and grossly overeat, because I confuse a spiritual/life hunger with a biological one? After all, Maslow b

Cyber-Bullying's Darker Twin

An emotionally charged, nostalgic shit storm hit me this week. It all started with  this video  ... From what I understand (via the grapevine, mind you), the dark haired girl on the left got upset over a rumour doing the rounds about her alleged teen pregnancy (which is still quite the scandal in the Afrikaans community whenever it happens, so I can understand her being offended by it) & she believed that the dark haired girl on the right was spreading this rumour. I found myself becoming more enraged with the shock exclaimed over the video online than with the two bullies! Here's what set me off: I guess cyber-bullying is relatively young, but this type of physical attack/bullying was happening almost daily whilst I was still in school during the 1980's & 1990's. On & off the 'playgrounds'. I find it extremely unsettling that people act as if this never before happened to anyone else in the past, like it's a new phenomenon and a matter of &qu

The Girl Who Didn't Exist

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As I've mentioned in some of my previous posts, my husband & I are newlyweds (12 years after we met, we finally got hitched on 1 Sep 2013); but our honeymoon period is far from what I expected it to be. Apart from the bed & breakfast treat we received from our  venue  as a special inclusion on our wedding day package, it's basically been business as usual in the Hallatt/Weideman household. No flowers delivered to my office, no moonlit dinners, no sand between our toes or sun on our skin. We're just too flat broke & are now saving up for a belated honeymoon + first anniversary combo getaway sometime next year. Even if I have to say so myself, we've both been absolute troopers dealing with this non-traditional honeymoon arrangement. Not complaining (even though we want to) & relishing our own form of speed dinner dating (usually of the fast food variety, eaten in front of the telly - or even in bed on the nights one/both of us come home from work too

Unfair Treatment, really?

This week I'm learning that an over inflated sense of importance can lead to feelings of being treated unequally/unfairly. For example: If, as a senior manger, you are required to work overtime without receiving additional remuneration for it, you are purely being treated equally to the rest of your senior managerial colleagues. Just because you don't like having to work after hours, does not make it unfair business practice from your employer's point of view. Don't let prior working experiences at other companies taint your view of what is possible where you are now. When you do feel that the way you were/are treated oversteps the borders set by your Employment Contract, please keep in mind that more can get done (and in your favour too) by first trying to reconcile the matter with your employer directly. Only if this proves unsuccessful should you approach a mediation & arbitration organisation like the CCMA. The purpose of the CCMA is "to promote so

Resident Office Ghost

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It's the month of Halloween ...isn't it exciting! I just really wish we celebrated the playful holiday with such gusto as the Americans do every year. Then this morning the strangest thing started happening at the office. We have door bells at each entrance for security purposes, so when the bell rings you can either walk up to the gate & unlock it, or you can use one of the remote devices some of us have in our possession during office hours. I am one of those entrusted with such a little device (basically it looks like any other motorised gate remote like those you might have at home). Due to the fact that I'm normally one of the first staff members in the office, I have to admit that I've gotten so used to the bell ringing every few seconds around 8 am (staff reporting for duty) that I sometimes press my remote button before I actually see who's at the door. [Lax in terms of safety, I know, so rest assured I'll be more careful next time.

The Link Between Gratitude & Happiness

So I just saw this video ...and I think I want to give it a try.  Go watch it & give me some time to think it over - and I'll get back to you :) [I'd love to post my response/letter right now, but I have to run :( ]